ALLi Watchdog Report: Motivational Press

In recent months, many authors have received email solicitations from Motivational Press inviting them to submit a manuscript for publication. Does the company live up to its own hype? Our Watchdog reporter John Doppler has been investigating and shares his findings here.

Motivational Press has been in business since 2007

Background

Founded in 2007, Motivational Press is an assisted publisher targeting authors of business, motivational, religious, and self-help books. Promotional materials present the company as “one of the world’s leading mid-tier publishers.” The CEO and prime mover of Motivational Press is entrepreneur Justin Sachs.

The Hard Sell

The Motivational Press website declares that self-publishing is “a prescription for no sales, no credibility, and no success,” and that without a “high-end publisher to market and distribute your book, you are no longer considered to be a credible author.”

Professional authors currently enjoying success as independents would take exception to that dubious advice. And as we’ll see later in this report, MP’s interpretation of “credible” and “high-end” are slippery, at best.

Photo credit: Dreamstime.com

Sachs sums up the company’s offerings in a 2014 interview: “Packaged, published, distributed, marketed, promoted; all the core components they will need are all taken care of for them.” MP will even write your book for you, according to Sachs’ LinkedIn profile.

The company doesn’t provide a list of services they will offer, and does not disclose pricing or terms online. Features they have advertised elsewhere include:

immediate placement in 50 brick-and-mortar stores throughout the world

corporate sales opportunities

cover design

an in-house PR firm

expert interviews

promotional and marketing support and guidance

billing and accounts payable support

Note how some of these features closely parallel Amazon’s Expanded Distribution options. It’s not uncommon for assisted publishers to repackage KDP or Createspace services (sometimes with a tremendous markup). In a response to a complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau, the company explains that “Motivational Press distributes our titles through [redacted], the largest distributor in the world.” (Although the distributor’s name has been redacted by the consumer watchdog charity that published the complaint, it most likely rhymes with “ham is on”.)

The same complaint alleges that MP charged $1,802.00 for a “Publishing and Distribution Package” that included “promotional opportunities” that never materialized. The complainant also accuses MP of not paying royalties due, despite seven requests for a formal accounting and the company’s eventual admission that payment was due. Motivational Press denied that their marketing opportunities were inadequate, but did not refute the accounting issues.

Redefining “Best Sellers”

Many of the books promoted by MP are identified as best sellers. This, presumably, is part of the credibility they speak of in their sales pitch.

But not all best seller lists are equal. There’s a huge difference in the effort needed to reach the top of Amazon’s Top 100 Paid rankings as opposed to briefly topping a niche category. As Sachs said in his 2014 interview: “There’s no such thing as an overnight true best seller. I’m not talking about an Amazon best seller campaign, because we know you can do that and in 24 hours be a best seller. I’m talking about a real best seller that’s selling millions of copies. It doesn’t happen overnight.”

So which kind of best seller does Motivational Press specialize in?

One author inadvertently answered that question in her blog. “Our goal was to have our title be a best-seller in its category by the end of the day,” she wrote. “And guess what? It climbed the charts and we reached our goal by end of day! How cool is that?”

It seems Motivational Press titles are “best sellers” only in niche categories on Amazon. I could find no evidence of the company’s books securing a slot on any major best seller list.

Even within the Amazon ecosystem, Motivational Press books seem to fare poorly. Of their 200 most recent titles, few hold Amazon sales rankings better than 1,000,000. The CEO’s own books published through MP fall primarily into the 1,000,000–2,000,000 range on Kindle sales rank and under the 6,000,000th rank in print sales.

Only one of Sachs’ books published through Motivational Press had gathered more than ten reviews. Most had zero. That’s not a glowing endorsement of the company’s marketing abilities.

In counterpoint, MP customers often praise Sachs by name in their books’ acknowledgments, citing Sachs’ moral support and the ease of working with MP’s staff. That’s encouraging, but only tells part of the story. These acknowledgments were written before the book was published and before the cost-effectiveness of MP’s services could be determined.

Significantly, few authors have gone on to publish a second book through Motivational Press.

Conclusion

There are predictable hallmarks of a predatory publisher. Money flows the wrong way, from the author to the publisher. Services offered are vague, or prices are not disclosed up front. High-pressure sales tactics are employed. Accountability and transparency are lacking. Promises are not fulfilled to the client’s satisfaction.

In this Watchdog’s opinion, the allegations made in the BBB complaint warrant caution. If true, they meet nearly all the criteria of a predatory publisher. However, even if those accusations are proven false, the lackluster performance and near-invisibility of MP’s promoted titles suggest marketing services that are ineffective at best, and which ultimately funnel money away from the author.

If the sales rank and visibility of Motivational Press titles are indicative of the “sales, credibility, and success” the company offers, authors are better off self-publishing.

Have you worked with Motivational Press? Please share your experiences in the comments below.

About John Doppler

From the sunny California beaches where he washed ashore in 2008, John Doppler scrawls tales of science fiction, urban fantasy, and horror -- and investigates self-publishing services as the Alliance of Independent Authors's Watchdog. John relishes helping authors turn new opportunities into their bread and butter and offers terrific resources for indie authors at Words on Words. He shares his lifelong passion for all things weird and wonderful on The John Doppler Effect.

30 Responses to ALLi Watchdog Report: Motivational Press

I received an unsolicited email from MP offering to publish my book. I write paranormal and erotic romance. Obviously someone didn’t do their homework when looking for authors to scam. I also read through the comments from the “happy” MP clients above and chose one to research who claims to have been on the Oprah show. I found zero evidence of that being true and despite a couple of them claiming to have published traditionally first, I couldn’t find evidence of that either. I suspect MP chooses a few authors to baby and or straight out pay to give them good PR. Overall, this is definitely a publisher I would steer clear from. I’ve had three different small presses close while I was contracted with them, and I know some of the obvious signs to look out for now.

Thank you for posting this article. In 2015 I was hired by Motivational Press as an editor, and was absolutely horrified by the inside workings of this company. I was just starting out in the publishing industry, and admittedly I was fooled by their claims of prestige and success and did not do nearly enough research on the company as I should have before accepting my position. Their advertising is extremely misleading. I was assigned to edit one book that had already been published and was being advertised as a best seller. The quality of the book was atrocious, no where close to publishing standards, with dozens of mistakes on every page and writing that one would find in a middle school classroom (if that). It was obvious that the book had not truly been edited the first time around before publication, and the “5-star reviews” it had on Amazon were clearly all written by friends and family of the author. Furthermore, and what led me to quit very soon after starting, was the fact that they were only willing to pay me a fixed price of fifty dollars per book, no matter what the word count was or how extensive the editing it required. I was appalled when the owner sent me a five hundred page manuscript that was a complete mess and unworthy of publication no matter how much it was edited. This company is a disgrace to the publishing industry and the reason why both writers and editors need to be wary when looking for quality publishers. I learned my lesson.

I got an email from them and responded. Then they sent me a sample agreement because I was skeptical. The agreement said they’d publish the book publicize it, etc. at no cost to me. I was still skeptical so they scheduled a call with the CEO you name in your post. We had a nice talk. We discussed topics and he asked me to provide an outline. I did and sent it a couple weeks ago. No response. After reading your post I’m even more skeptical. Thoughts?

I just received an email from Motivational Press inviting me to join a course they were running for only 25 people, as they considered me a ‘thought leader’ and wished to publish my book… LOL! I write YA, not life coaching!

Interestingly, the course runs for 10 weeks, and started on July 12th, and they sent the email to me today, September 30th 2016… a tad late, perhaps? Not only this, but considering they believe me such a leader in the field, they didn’t seem to know my name… there was no name on the email.

I think I’ve just been spammed. And if you get an email like this and take them up on it, then you’ve been conned. I’d advise everyone to steer well clear.

Thanks for writing this article. It does help that writers are educated in the SCAMS conducted by scrupulous and relentless predatory publishers. My only concern about your article is that it doesn’t go far enough to identify the good publishers out there.

Now perhaps you might say that you’re not in to giving endorsements but by your article you just did. You endorsed (meaning supported and recommended), that MP is a snow-job. Well where’s the sunshine? Who can we trust?

Here’s an interesting fact check I just conducted. I reviewed the MP website and discovered that they use the BBB logo and claim to be an Accredited A+ business.

Well not according to the BBB. Not only is MP not an accredited business of the BBB, they NEVER have been.

So to all writers on this thread and those that will read this in the future, if a business would hold themselves out as trustworthy by using a logo without permission that is supposed to signify trustworthiness, then it is clear that they will not be upfront with you about your project and that trust is not something that they’re big on EARNING.

Don’t worry John, after calling the BBB which will be contacting MP soon I’m sure, they may remove the logo and might even declare that they never used such a logo when confronted in the future, but I’ve saved a screenshot for you Mark Stevenson (the VP that sent me an unsolicited email).

They also claim to be members of the Forbes Coaches Council. I’m sure that’s a farce as well.

Thanks so much for this blog post. I was very surprised when I received an email from Motivational Press over the weekend, and then when I read that they wanted to publish one of my books, I thought, But how do they even know I’m trying to publish a book? I had not submitted any type of book proposal to them and yet they were inviting me to publish with them.

I run a book production services company and I have assisted nearly 100 authors with publishing-related tasks. We don’t dabble in marketing books and such because it can be such a slippery slope (kudos for addressing the top-sellers in a specific category, by the way!). But we do aim to publish the best books possible. We make the client aware of all fees upfront and don’t make any promises where “bestseller lists” are concerned, although we have had a few success stories. Our approach is to make each book as professional as possible (like any book you’d find in a bookstore), and then let the author or his or her representative handle the marketing and promotion (though we do offer some pointers).

As someone who works in the industry, this is certainly an affront to the hard-working professionals who aim to assist authors, who are often extremely vulnerable to scams and empty promises. Your report highlights the ways in which Motivational Press errs on the side of “predatory publishers,” and I hope that your readers will think twice before publishing with them. I look forward to reading more of your posts soon!

Thanks for this, John. They have aent me an offer similar to Lealie’s and it sounded too good to be true. I realize now that there is a catch. I have published 5 books of fiction and poetry and have never had to pay anyone for the publishing. I would not like to do this now.
Your facts and the follow-up comments have been an eye- opener.
Thank you for your good work.

I’ve had two books published by Motivational Press in a purely traditional manner, and I have to say they have been terrific. They worked with me thru the editing process for months to get the manuscript just right and then they printed lovely books. I was never asked for a penny. I find some of these assertions here EXTREMELY dubious. If I have had one reservation about MP, its that they are lacking in the marketing end. For my first book, they set up literally dozens of radio and blogger interviews that had terrific impact on my book sales. My second book didn’t get the same kind of “hands on” attention as the first, but it was a novel and not a self-improvement genre book. I have had another novel published by another traditional publisher and I had a horrendous experience with them. By comparison, MP has been a breath of fresh air.

We have several accounts — including comments on this page — of authors being asked to pay substantial fees, so I’m curious about why your experience differs from theirs. May I ask when you contracted with Motivational Press?

As for the marketing, that’s a central concern expressed throughout this report. There’s little evidence that MP’s marketing has been effective, especially not for the fees complainants state they were charged.

I have been very pleased with Motivational Press’s service and have published four books with them and also debut another book in the Fall of this year.

Motivational Press never charged me to print, design the cover and publish the book. However, they did offer in-house services for promotion of my book. Services an author would need to pay for elsewhere. I have paid for only two of their services that totaled about $2,000. But it was my choice to pay MP instead of somebody else.

As an author who published his first four books with three different traditional publishers from 2002 to 2010, I also feel this article doesn’t honestly portray the publishing industry as a whole. A publisher’s job is to print the book not market it. If any publisher spent time marketing every book they publish, they’d go bankrupt and wouldn’t be able to service other authors.

The main marketing responsibility falls mainly on the author and the publicist he/she hires. Not the publisher. And no publisher can offer any guarantee an author’s book will sell.

The bigger question a person must ask is “Why am I publishing this book?”

If it is for the money, you will make a grave mistake. If it is because you are passionate about your writing, then you increase your chances of earning some revenue from book sales and/or speaking engagements.

In the end it is the author’s choice to decide which publisher is the best fit for him/her.

I need to respectfully disagree with your article and perception of Motivational Press. MP is a traditional publisher. Period. Not a vanity publisher. Not a self-publishing scheme. They do not require any fee, whatsoever. They create incredible cover art, perfect formatting, fair royalties, and high quality books. They also set authors up with radio interviews and so many connections to other authors and markets all over the world. My book was readily available overseas even before its formal launch. They want to help authors succeed and create a platform for speaking engagements and the like. I would recommend MP to both new and veteran authors.

I received an unsolicited e-mail from MP, saying that as an “emerging thought-leader” that they want to consider me for a publishing deal. I was invited to join a 10-week Write Your Book course that was limited to only 25 people.

As flattered as I am to be considered a thought-leader (tongue firmly planted in cheek!), I am not an author and not currently looking to write a book. I am a newly minted coach, and that was the hook. Their pitch was that a book could help grow my coaching business.

I admit to being interested in writing a book at some point; however something about this e-mail didn’t feel quite right, so I decided to do some research which led me to John’s post. I’m glad that I did.

John…. Hi I came across your article while doing research on Motivational Press. I am a motivational author, meditation recording artist, teacher./speaker, among other things. I have been a motivational author for over 25 years, never have had an agent and have never paid any publisher to publish my works. I have over 70 children’s book published in Korea for their educational system, over 150 motivational greeting cards published, various works in anthologies, a middle grade novel and an inspirational book for women. I stumbled across motivational press, seeking a publisher for my new self-help book, “A DREAM-MAKER’S JOURNAL From Dreams To Reality.” They contacted me after I submitted an online form. I had a telephone interview with Justin which went well and he said he would get back to me after looking at my manuscript. Less than 24 hours later he contacted me and said that they would like to move forward with my book at the fee of $3000! However tempting this may seem to have my book brought forth into publication, I felt uneasy about it. Again I have NEVER PAID to have my work published. For someone looking to self publish, it could be an option. I am holding out for the RIGHT publisher. Keep your fingers crossed. Please feel free to contact me.

hi Leslie my name is Bineta Ngom and I’m looking to publish my book. Justin ask me to pay 5000 dollars in monthly payments and get my book published. I don’t mind paying but can an author be successful with their work?
what do you think of MP?
thanks
my email is bngomlaye@gmail.com

Thank you, John Doppler, for keeping a clear approach to the ‘creative agents’ fishing for naïve – perhaps also innocent – minds not only of writers aiming to become authors.

I admit that my personal experience as a would be self-publisher has veered me from trust to scepticism. Having lost 3 years – forget about the money – to promises, I now intend to begin again by trusting myself.

So, yes, John Doppler, all credit to you for keeping our minds concentrated on not, without research m accepting offers of service from what could appear credible publishers of indie authors.